Response to Article: The Student WebQuest by Maureen Brown Yoder

When I first heard the term WebQuest I immediately associated it with an online Scavenger Hunt, another busy work assignment for students to zip from one website to another to find fun facts and trivia about certain topics. Boy was I wrong!

Maureen Yoder’s article, “The Student WebQuest: A Productive and Thought-Provoking Use of the Internet” does an incredible job giving an in-depth look at what WebQuest are and ways to effectively integrate them into the classroom. I really liked how she explained each building block of a WebQuest (Introduction, Task, Process, Resources, Evaluation, and Conclusion) and I’ll definitely keep this article as reference for when I create my own WebQuests!
I can’t wait to use WebQuests in my classroom next year!

Response to Article: YouTube Comes to the Classroom By Anna Adam and Helen Mowers

YouTube, like with anything on the Internet, must be monitored and used appropriately. I've been in both school systems where one didn’t allow YouTube in the classroom and like at my current school which does allow it in the classroom. In my personal experience, "safety and security risks" have not been a major issue and the benefits have outweighed the risks. It was very frustrating to know YouTube videos could have benefited my classroom educationally, but wasn’t an option because it was blocked on the server by the school system.

However, last year I did have a student ask me to watch a video she put on YouTube of herself dancing. Well, I knew right away it wasn’t something that needed to be published for the world to see, so I spoke with my team and we decided to speak with her about the content and the dangers of posting material like that on Internet (she was dancing very provocatively to say the least). We also spoke with her mother and of course she had no idea her daughter posted video of herself on YouTube. Needless to say, after we spoke with her mother later that day the video was removed.

It just goes to show that as teachers in an ever growing technology-rich world we don't need to assume our students know what is and isn't appropriate behavior on the Internet. Kids need to be taught and then need to be reminded often of what is and isn't appropriate Internet behavior.

And, interestingly enough when I was at the bank depositing a check I noticed on the counter a booklet entitled, "New Cetera: Chatting with Kids About Being Online" put out by www.onguardonline.gov which is full of information to teach students how to be responsible and safe on the Internet.

If you'd like to order free copies of the brochure, visit bulkorder.ftc.gov

The booklet also has a glossary that defines online vocabulary such as cyberbullying, firewall, hacking, badware, P2P, sexting, and spyware.

I plan to go over them during the first week of school, and to quiz them before they are allowed to use computers “freely.”

Skype

Laura and I explored Skype and found it very useful. Things we did using Skype:

1. Chat - Very useful to collaborate, ask questions and work on assignments at home.
2. Video Chat - We found this really useful when we couln't type, but we could talk.
3. Send a File - This is going to be very useful when we want to edit papers, send pictures, power points, etc. Very fast and convenient as well.
4. Screen View - This is great! Laura took screen shots to show me how to turn my microphone on and change the setting so she could see and hear me. What a great way to "walk someone through a website" etc.

Skype is a great tool! I keep it on when I have the computer up and I really enjoy being about to collaborate with the class in an easy, effective way.

Lesley Web 2.0

Genetics WebQuest

Click the link below to go to the WebQuest Angela and I created:

hastidr.weebly.com

Let us know if you have any questions! Enjoy!

BP OIL SPILL

Have you been down to the beach to see the BP Oil Spill? I haven't had an opportunity, but plan to next week. My friends have text messaged pictures and it is terrible and heartbreaking. I plan to bring some back to keep in my classroom, so if you'd like any let me know and I'll bring you some.

Projects for NXT 2.0

This summer I'm teaching a robotics camp and choose to go with the LEGO Mindstorm NXT 2.0 classroom set...check it out different activities at http://www.nxtprograms.com/index2.html

Also, there is a great blog I'm following with update to information for NXT 2.0 users...